So We Finally Know Why Nicole Kidman Was Clapping So Oddly at the Oscars

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If you’re at an awards show, it’s a given there will be lots of clapping. And, if you’re an actor at the Oscars, you can bet that the cameras will frequently pan to shots of you and other guests clapping throughout the evening. Such close-ups should be mundane, but as we all know now, Nicole Kidman threw us all for a loop at this year’s Academy Awards when she proceeded to bizarrely clap with her hands held high above her head.

The gif was one of the most memorable of the night and we thankfully now know what on earth caused Kidman’s seal-like moves. In an interview with an Australian radio show, Kidman confirmed the host’s theory that the actress simply didn’t want to mess up her rings. “I believe you were clapping like that because you had the rings on and you didn’t want to damage the rings,” Kyle Sandilands, co-host of KISS FM’s Kyle and Jackie. “I’m so glad you clarified that because it was really awkward!” Kidman said on the show. She continued:

“I was like gosh, I want to clap, I don’t want to not be
clapping, which would be worse, right? ‘Why isn’t Nicole clapping? … So
therefore I’m clapping but it was really difficult because I had a huge
ring on that was not my own, but it was absolutely gorgeous, and I was
terrified of damaging it!”

Kidman had good reason also to worry. She was wearing 119 carats of Harry Winston jewels, according to People. Guess this means next year we can expect her to pare down the number of rings?